President urged to establish DPP over delays in prosecuting past abuses

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been urged to establish a Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) without further delay amid concerns over the lack of progress in prosecuting grave human rights abuses committed during Sri Lanka’s conflict, according to a report published by JURIST.org on Friday.

The call comes from Human Rights Watch (HRW), which said the government had made only limited progress towards justice for past abuses, despite President Dissanayake’s pledges to address the grievances of victims and their families.

In a report released on Tuesday, HRW said many families of those subjected to enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and other abuses were still waiting for justice and proper closure.

The report also highlighted the ongoing excavations at Chemmani in the Jaffna peninsula, where mass graves are being investigated. Progress on the excavations has reportedly been affected by funding and adverse weather, further fuelling concerns among families awaiting answers about missing relatives.

HRW said successive governments had failed to deliver accountability despite numerous commissions established to investigate alleged abuses. It noted that tens of thousands of people were killed, abducted or subjected to torture during periods of conflict and political violence, while abuses were also committed by the LTTE, including suicide bombings, summary executions and the recruitment and use of child soldiers.

The rights group also criticised the government for not accepting the UN Human Rights Office’s Sri Lanka Accountability Project, which was established to collect, preserve and analyse information and evidence relating to alleged gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law.

HRW further pointed to the failure to establish the proposed DPP, despite President Dissanayake having pledged to create such an institution to address delays in prosecutions and strengthen the independence and efficiency of the prosecutorial process.

The concerns come amid renewed international calls for accountability over unresolved cases. UN experts last month called for action over the killing of 17 humanitarian aid workers in Sri Lanka 20 years ago, while rights groups have also raised concerns over allegations of torture and deaths in the country’s prisons.

HRW said the government’s handling of past abuses would remain a key test of its commitment to justice and accountability.